This study is an important opportunity for the World Bank to analyse PFM reform initiatives in FCS. Although there is an increasing literature on PFM reform initiatives across low-income countries, the focus on FCS has yet to be explored in detail and lesson-learning opportunities have yet to be fully exploited.

Work in the first phase of this project summarised the available literature on PFM reform initiatives in FCS and tried to identify key issues and themes from three desk-based case studies (in Afghanistan, Cambodia and Sierra Leone).

The new phase of the study will build on the previous outputs, but in doing so extend the breadth and depth of the research. Five in-depth country case studies will be prepared and, from those outputs, a synthesis paper and guidance note will be developed. The objective is to provide practitioners with accessible, evidence-based knowledge about PFM reform approaches in FCS.